Modern Times (community) facts for kids

Modern Times was a special community that existed from 1851 to 1864 in a place now called Brentwood, New York, in the United States. It was like an experiment to create a perfect society. Two people, Josiah Warren and Stephen Pearl Andrews, started it. They built the community around Warren's ideas of "individual sovereignty" (meaning people should be in charge of their own lives) and "equitable commerce" (meaning fair trade based on how much work something took).

Modern Times lasted until 1864. At that time, the people living there decided to change the town's name to Brentwood. Many writers have shared different ideas about why this unique community eventually changed.

What Inspired Modern Times?

Josiah Warren's Early Ideas

Josiah Warren was a clever inventor and businessman. But he became very interested in creating ideal communities. He was especially curious about New Harmony, Indiana. This was a socialist community started by Robert Owen in 1825.

In 1825, Warren sold his factory and moved his family to New Harmony. However, this community failed in just two years. Warren believed it failed because it was too strict. Also, he thought the idea of everyone owning everything together was a problem.

The Idea of Individual Freedom

From his experience at New Harmony, Warren developed a new idea: "individual sovereignty." This means that each person has the right to control their own body and life. It's about being truly independent.

Warren also realized that this idea of individual freedom should include how people earn and trade things. He felt that sharing all property in common had hurt New Harmony.

Fair Trade: Cost as Price

Warren also came up with the idea of "cost the limit of price." He believed that the price of goods and services should be based on how much work it took to make them. It shouldn't be based on what people simply thought they were worth.

So, he suggested a system where people would get special notes. These notes would show how many hours they worked. They could use these notes at local "time stores" to buy things that took the same amount of time to produce. Or, they could trade their labor notes with other residents for an equal amount of work.

How Modern Times Began and Grew

Starting the Community

Stephen Pearl Andrews met Josiah Warren in New York City in 1851. Andrews was a lawyer and worked to end slavery. He had many interests, including knowing over 30 languages! Andrews was so impressed by Warren's ideas that he wrote a book about them. He wanted more people to learn about these new ways of living.

In 1851, Warren and Andrews decided to start their own experimental village. They called it Modern Times, and it was built where Brentwood is today. Warren and Andrews sold the land to new settlers at the exact cost they paid for it. There was one rule: buyers had to wait at least five years before selling the land for a profit. If they sold it sooner, it had to be at the original cost.

Daily Life in Modern Times

William Metcalf built the first home in Modern Times in the spring of 1851. The next year, ten more families moved in. It was easy to swap labor notes for other people's work. Also, Josiah Warren had a clever way to make cheap bricks from sun-dried mud. This helped keep house prices low.

By 1855, a New York State survey showed 85 people living in Modern Times. In 1860, a national survey counted 126 residents.

In theory, Modern Times was supposed to be a place where people traded their work for everything they needed. But in reality, residents soon had to work outside the community. They needed regular money to buy many things essential for daily life.

Modern Times was unique because it had no government, no laws, and no police. You could even call it an "anarchistic" place, meaning no rulers. Yet, there was no crime or violence during its 13-year history.

Why Modern Times Changed

Challenges and Changes

People have different ideas about why Modern Times didn't continue past 14 years. Vern Dyson wrote that a money crisis in 1857 hurt the businesses in the village. He felt the Civil War then finished it off. William Bailie also thought the 1857 crisis had a bad effect on Modern Times.

However, Roger Wunderlich believed Bailie might have made the 1857 crisis seem worse than it was. Wunderlich said that even after the crisis, new settlers continued to arrive slowly but steadily. He also noted that even before 1857, many skilled workers in Modern Times started to want more than just equal trade for their skills. So, they began working outside Modern Times for money.

Charles Codman, who lived in Modern Times, wrote years later about other reasons. He felt there wasn't a strong leader to share the ideas of Modern Times with more people. He also thought that many settlers weren't fully committed to the ideals of fair trade. These factors, he believed, stopped it from continuing as a perfect village.

The Impact of the Civil War

Finally, Wunderlich wrote that the Civil War created a difficult situation for the residents of Modern Times. Their beliefs were about individual freedom. Could someone who believed in individual sovereignty join the army to fight? Or pay taxes for the war?

In the end, out of 168 men from the nearby town of Islip who joined the Union Army, 15 were from Modern Times. This meant Modern Times sent a higher percentage of its men to war than the rest of Islip.

A New Name: Brentwood

In 1864, the people of Modern Times decided to change their town's name to Brentwood. They did this to reduce the negative attention and publicity that the name "Modern Times" had attracted.

See also

In Spanish: Colonia Tiempos Modernos para niños